Disagree. In my experience there are occassional system dependencies but generally speaking better cables improve the sound quality of every system you try them in and the differences are easily heard with extended listening, and sometimes at first listen.
Thanks for your response. I believe each system's final sound is a product of many variables. Otherwise called synergy. One of those is definitely cables. An obvious example is to avoid putting a bright, transparent cable in a system that has a "top down" sonic signature.
As for auditioning, I'm not a big fan of "first impressions" because they can be misleading upon further listening. Regarding differences, it takes extended listening to determine if those differences are good, bad or just different.
If I had systems like yours, I will do combination of Hemingway Z core and Echole Omnia (in different combinations of power cables/IC/speaker cable). Let us know what you ended up and your journey to the final destination. It is always fascinating to see how decisions are made: varying combinations of reviews, forum members experience, your perception of brand sonics, local availability to audition and any deals near by or websites.
@_Alchemist_ how goes the cable search? My latest updates are I finally published a (very favorable) review of the Furutech cables I’ve been using and I have a full loom of Kubala Sosna coming in. I’ve also discovered CDs on a cheap Pioneer Blu Ray transport sound better than my basic streaming setup so I took all my CDs out of storage again and have a PS Audio transport on the way.
I finally settled on a combination of cables.
I was between Shunyata and Siltech and finally went for Siltech 770L loom and spx800 power cables.
I'm also using analysis plus power 2 for the ediscreation switch and for the farad psu for the nucleus +.
For the farad, I am using the dc power cable level 2.
I pulled two dedicated lines using Oyaide in wall cable
IMO the biggest impact was the dedicated line, it's huge what it brings in terms of dynamics and tonal density.
I'd say I'm quite happy with my system and find it well balanced now, it took past 600 hours to be fully settled and I feel I am still gaining some here and there as time passes.